Ramli John

Author of Product-Led Onboarding (+30K copies sold) | First Round Fast Track Mentor | Content Director at Appcues.

⭐️ Follow me for helpful tips to onboard, delight, and keep your customers coming back to your product.
📔 Author of Amazon #1 bestselling book "Product-Led Onboarding." 👉 𝙎𝙀𝘼𝙉 𝙀𝙇𝙇𝙄𝙎, Founder of GrowthHackers.com: "Product-Led Onboarding is 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭-𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞 embarking on the critical activity of improving their user onboarding." 


⚡️ I use my multi-disciplinary skills in marketing, design, and software development to help product-led SaaS companies analyze their whole customer's journey and funnel to identify growth opportunities to 2-3X their MRR. 

Often, that means designing and implementing experiments to increase activation rate (trial-to-paid or free-to-paid conversions), decrease churn rate, or increase average revenue per user (ARPU)

If you asked my friends and colleagues how they would describe me, they'd say I'm resourceful, proactive, and entrepreneurial

►► CONTACT INFO
▷ Send a connection request
▷ Write me a note at ramli [at] ramlijohn.com

Founder

A weekly show and newsletter for marketers looking to level up their marketing and career. I interview world-class marketers to uncover the secrets, strategies, and frameworks behind their wins. In each episode, guests reveal three things:  (1) a marketing power-up,  (2) a real-world example of that in action, and (3) a power-up that’s helped them take their career to the next level.

Ramli "RJ" John

16 weeks ago, I could barely run 3K. Sunday, I ran my first half-marathon! I treated my training like growth experiments. 3 things that worked:


(Yes, I'm a nerd. My wife says I'm obsessed. I agree! 🤣)

Experiment 1: Fuel Strategy (Finding the Right Gel)

My biggest fear? Runner's trot. Google it if you dare.

I tested different energy gels to fuel a 2+ hour run. Honey Stinger caused stomach issues. Not fun.

I tried Maurten, GU, SiS, gummy bears, and baby applesauce.

Switched to Kronos, a Canadian maple-based gel. No issues and felt great.

The lesson? Test before it matters.

Your users won't tell you about embarrassing problems, but they'll quietly churn because of them.

Experiment 2: Continuous Running vs. Galloway Run-Walk-Run

I tested the Galloway method (run 90 seconds, walk 30, repeat). My splits were consistent. I felt fresher.

But I went with continuous runs that gradually increased speed.

Why? Simplicity. I didn't want to think about timers at kilometer 18 when my legs were screaming.

Same with product growth. The "optimal" solution isn't always the one users will stick with.

Experiment 3: Nose Breathing Technique

Two quick inhales through the nose, one long exhale. Sounds weird, right?

It dropped my heart rate. Made hard runs feel manageable.

A small technique change made a massive difference.

Just like when you change one small design tweak and retention jumps 15%.

In the end, I crossed the finish line in 2:19:01.

My "A goal" was just to finish. My "B goal" was somewhere between 2:10 and 2:30.

Mission accomplished!

It was fun running this one with Wes Bush and Catherine Hughes, M.Ed, PhD.

And honestly? I'm addicted. Already signed up for the full Toronto Marathon in May. Let's see what happens.

Every experiment started with "this should work."

Then I tested what actually worked for me. Then I kept what I could sustain for 21 kilometers.

Same process with product work. Best practices are starting points. Real users show you what actually works. Then you optimize for what they'll stick with.

—

What's something in your life right now that you're treating like an experiment?

Ramli John ⭐️

Building a community for AI Product Leaders. Founder @ Delight Path. 2x best-selling author. New book “Eureka” now available. Author of “Product-Led Onboarding” (+40K copies sold).

933 product leaders registered. 415 showed up live. That's 44% attendance (avg is 25%). The AI Product Leaders Summit exceeded everything I hoped for!


But the stats aren't what got me. It's the messages after yesterday's summit:

"Great Summit today Ramli! You provided huge value in the community!"

"Thanks, Ramli, this was a very enjoyable, educational and interactive summit! Great speakers and hosting! 👏👏"

"So well done! The speakers/content were top notch, where I just wanted more!"

Hosting a 5 hour live event drained my batteries. But messages like those made it all worth it.

Here are the biggest takeaways from 16 product leaders:

→ Every single session came back to customer research and knowing "why"
→ Lauren Creedon shared Goldcast's actual product org chart and AI roadmap (transparency level: 100)
→ Time-to-value matters, but product growth is now more than ever focused on time-to-trust
→ Product leaders opened up about the specific AI tools they're using to enable and upskill their teams
→ And a ton more (I'm writing a blog post about it!)

Thank you to every product leader who showed up—from 143 different companies. You made this what it was.

Thank you to the speakers who brought real strategies, not theory:
Janna Bastow, C. Todd Lombardo, Nesrine Changuel, PhD, Netali Jakubovitz, Christine Itwaru, Lauren Creedon, Bernadette Fisher, Mariana Danylak, Deepti Pradeep, Lauren Schuman, Jacob Bank, Betsy Shaak, Vivek Balasubramanian, Partho Ghosh, Ryan Barry, Colin Matthews, and Matthew Abersfeld.

You shared what actually worked (and what didn't). That's what made this valuable.

Thank you to Userflow, Goldcast, and LogRocket for sponsoring and making the giveaways happen.

One more thing:

I announced something BIG yesterday. Something I've been quietly building the last few weeks. I shared it live at the summit.

I'll share more tomorrow. Can't wait!

What was your biggest takeaway from the summit?

I've had the same conversation 30 times in the past few weeks. Different product leaders. Different companies. Same exhaustion...


Here's what I heard:

🔥 "I'm exhausted from constant firefighting."
🙅‍♂️ "I need to learn to say no with confidence."
😵 "AI is changing things so much. It's hard to catch up."
🤔 "I need more space for strategic thinking than being stuck in the weeds."

Product leaders are stuck firefighting when they want to be two steps ahead. 

AI's moving fast, expectations are moving faster, and we're supposed to have all the answers while coaching our team and keeping execs confident.

And when we finally pause? It's hard to find people who actually get what it's like to sit in our seat.

The truth is that we don't need another framework or AI playbook.

We need space to think, connect with peers who get it, and build our leadership practice.

That's why I'm excited to finally announce the Product Leaders Lab. 🧪

A private community I'm building for experienced product leaders (CPOs, VPs, Directors, Heads, Group PMs, etc.) who want to stay ahead and lead through change with confidence.

Inside the Lab, you'll get:

→ Cabin Crews: Small groups of 5-6 peers for honest conversations and accountability
→ Workshops & AMAs: Leadership topics like setting strategy, managing up, and leading through AI-driven change
→ Co-Labs: Bring a challenge, leave with clarity and support
→ The Leadership Library: Resources on defining success, influencing without authority, and building teams that scale

I'm also intentionally building for diversity. The industry is male-dominated, and I'm aiming for at least 50% of members to be women. There's real value in creating a more balanced space where different perspectives shape the conversation.

I'm opening 25 Founding Member spots right now.

Apply by November 25 to help shape the Lab.

✅ Apply now → https://lnkd.in/gHrG7AaB

I've already said yes to a handful of product leaders:

→ Betsy Shaak, VP of Product at Voxpopme
→ Luis Caceres, Product Director at Spotify
→ Brent Beatty, VP of Product at 7shifts
→ Michelle (Reiman) Wright, CPO at Kurtosys

Want to join them? That means only 21 spots left.

—

PS. Know a product leader who needs this? Tag them below. They'll thank you for it!

If I could grab coffee with my 21-year-old self, I'd give him 3 networking tips that took me 19 years to figure out.

Last week, I met someone new to the industry. They made every mistake I made early on.

Here's what I wish someone had told me:

1. Give more than you take.

Early in your career, you don't have much to give. What you CAN give:
→ A genuine thank you
→ Updates on how their advice helped you
→ Buying coffee when you can afford it

As you gain influence, you can give more. Just this week, someone I barely know sent me a Starbucks gift card out of nowhere. Didn't ask. They just wanted to say thanks for advice I gave months ago.

That's what happens when you give first.

2. Go beyond work topics.

Most people treat networking as transactions. It's short-term gains, immediate asks.

But real relationships are built on more than work:
→ Ask about their hobbies
→ Remember their kids' names
→ Check in about that marathon they mentioned

When I ask someone, "How's Cam doing?" and they're surprised I remembered their son's name? That's not a networking tactic. That's being a decent human who actually listens.

3. Turn online into offline when you can

If someone's in your city, make time to meet.
→ Not a 30-minute "networking coffee."
→ An actual hangout  for breakfast, a walk, whatever feels natural

Five years ago, Kirsty McConnell just started at Chameleon. She helped promote my first book, Product-Led Onboarding, when almost nobody knew who I was. Last week, she flew from Barcelona to Toronto. We met, not for networking but as friends.

We talked about marathon training, family adventures, and life moves. The professional stuff came up, but it was secondary.

That shift from transaction to friendship? That's when your "networking" becomes more about relationship-building.

Networking is simple: be genuinely helpful, stay in touch, and show up when you can.

If you're ever in Toronto, let me know. There are some great coffee spots I'd love to show you.

What's one networking lesson you wish you'd learned earlier?

—

PS. 🔖 Bookmark this for when you're wondering how to build real relationships, not just collect connections.

PPS. I'm building a private community space for 25 experienced product leaders (VPs, Directors, and Heads of Product) to connect about life and the latest hot topic... AI in product. It's called the Product Leaders Lab. If that's you, I'd love to connect.

My AI tool stack saves me 156 hours a year. That's 21 working days that I get back with my 3-year-old son, Zane...


Most product leaders I talk to use AI randomly. Chat here, summarize there, no system.

Here's what actually works for me (my 6-tool AI tool stack):

1. Claude (Projects)

Every client gets a project. Half-marathon training gets a project. Evening journaling gets a project.

I have everything in my life organized in Claude projects. That way, it has context about me and produces a richer, more accurate output.

This approach is way more powerful than prompt-and-pray.

2. Better Dictation (Text-to-speech AI tool)

I talk faster than I type. Always have. This voice-to-text helps me write posts, emails, and (yes) even books by speaking my thoughts. The ROI paid for itself after writing 3 client emails.

The best part is that it's a one-time payment (not a subscription!). Oh, it also helps that it uses ChatGPT for accurate transcription.

3. ClickUp (AI needs structure)

AI is only as good as your data structure. I codify every workflow in ClickUp, including deliverables, presentations, and tasks.

The AI can then actually help, rather than hallucinating random suggestions.

4. Fathom.ai  (Meeting notes)

This records my client calls and lets me chat with the transcripts afterward. I use it to recap client requirements, pull exact quotes for proposals, and craft follow-up pitches

Saves me from frantically searching "wait, what did they say about their onboarding drop-off rate?"

5. Lex Page (Long-form writing copilot)

This helped me write my new book, Eureka. It's built specifically for long-form content, not just quick prompts. When I'm stuck on a chapter or a framework explanation, Lex helps me think it through without losing my voice.

6. Mem (My second brain)

I dump thoughts here, and it organizes them automatically. Then it funnels insights into my calendar, links to relevant projects, and surfaces patterns I wouldn't have seen.

It's like having a research assistant who actually remembers what you said 3 months ago.

The Pattern is that each tool solves one specific friction point in my workflow:

→ Claude = thinking partner
→ Better Dictation = speed up input
→ ClickUp = structure the chaos
→ Fathom = never lose context
→ Lex = write without losing your voice
→ Mem = organize thoughts automatically

The result is 2-3 hours back every week.

That's time I spend with my family, not typing the same client email for the 47th time.

What's your AI stack look like? 
What am I missing?

—

✅ PS. Bookmark this stack for when you're drowning in admin work and need those hours back. Future you will thank me.

PPS. If you like this, I'm hosting the AI Product Leaders Summit next Tuesday, 11/18. I have product leaders from Adobe, Slack, and Google sharing their daily AI Toolkit.

Register via the last page of the document.

Ramli John's 6 AI Tool Stack

Excited to be hosting the AI Product Leaders Summit on 11/18. 
Here's why I'm genuinely excited about this..


I've been watching product leaders navigate AI for the past year. Some thriving, most overwhelmed. Everyone's trying to figure out the same things: 

How do we build AI products users love? 
How do we structure teams for AI success? 
How do we get CEO buy-in without overpromising?

This summit brings together people who are doing this work right now:

→ Christine Itwaru ( VP of Product and Design at Beamer/Userflow) on building AI-first product teams
→ Lauren Schuman (VP of Product Growth at Close) on maintaining PLG principles while integrating AI
→ Partho Ghosh (VP of Product at Uberall) on getting product-CEO alignment
→ Jacob Bank (Founder at Relay.app, Former PM at Google) on the AI toolkit that actually matters

Plus product leaders who work or have worked at Adobe, Slack, Spotify, Microsoft, and more.

No vendor pitches. No theory. Just real strategies from people actively building AI products and leading teams through this transformation.

November 18th, 10 AM to 3:30 PM EST. Free and virtual.

Register for free: https://lnkd.in/gcCwnvvA

What's your biggest question about leading AI products?

—
PS. Thanks to the sponsors Userflow, LogRocket, and Goldcast for making this event possible and giving away over $4,000 in prizes, including a product onboarding audit, an AI prototyping course, and books from speakers.

PPS. Tag a product leader who needs to see this.

+10K AI tools exist right now (and growing). What are product teams actually using to ship features? That's a question we're answering at the AI Product Leaders Summit.

Not what's trending on Product Hunt. Not the flashiest new thing. 
The tools product teams are actually using day-to-day.

I'm bringing together some stellar product leaders to tackle this topic and more:

→ Matthew Abersfeld (LogRocket's CEO, ex-Google Chrome PM) on frontend monitoring for AI product experiences
→ Mariana Danylak (Director of PM, Growth at Slack) on what her growth team uses to ship AI features
→ Jacob Bank (CEO of Relay.app, ex-Google Gmail/Calendar PM) on the tools that matter for product leaders
→ Deepti Pradeep (Director of PM, Growth at Adobe) on the tools driving growth for Photoshop and Lightroom

What frameworks help you decide what to build? What prototyping tools are worth learning? How do you monitor AI features in production?

Real tools. Real workflows. No vendor pitches.

November 18th, 10 AM - 3:30 PM EST. Free and virtual.

Register for free: https://lnkd.in/gcCwnvvA

What AI tool has actually made your team more productive?

—

PS. I'm giving away a $1,450 seat for Colin Matthews' "AI Prototyping for Product Managers" course to a live attendee! I took the course and loved it.

He'll also be joining us for the panel, "The AI Toolkit for Product Leaders!"

PPS. Tag a product leader who needs to see this toolkit session.

Kate Syuma

Growthmates

Growthmates is a platform and an advising practice that guides companies in growing meaningful products by leveraging PLG and enhancing UX quality, together.

Growthmates podcast, newsletter, and industry reports featured leaders from companies like:
— Dropbox
— Canva 
— HubSpot
— Adobe
— Amplitude

Clients are coming from companies like:
— Intercom 
— Loom
— Mentimeter
— Beautiful.ai
…and more

Explore collaboration options →  growthmates.club

Founder | Growth Advisor | PLG, Activation, UX

Maven

— NEW course: User-centric Product Growth: Build your Roadmap
— Created the "Self-serve User Onboarding" course
— Course passed 50+ people from Intercom, Gramamrly, Wistia, and more
— Featured on Maven TOP-100 courses in Product Category

Partner | Growth Product

Manychat

Supported the Growth Motion at Manychat by:
— forming and up-skilling the Growth team
— providing advice to the Growth team to inform ongoing Growth initiatives 
— uncovering opportunities for PLG Activation (in-product flows and lifecycle communications)

Growth Advisor

Antler

Supported 10+ startups worldwide as a part of the Antler advisory community. Provided advice on:
— PLG (Product Led Growth): introducing PLG strategy and opportunities for business growth
— Product Discovery and User Research: finding the right methods to inform the product strategy
— Product-led Acquisition, Activation, Engagement, Monetisation: finding relevant leverages and combining them with clean UX to grow the business
— Onboarding flow: uncovering opportunities to uplift Activation
— Business model design: finding the right model for Monetisation (e.g. Free Trial, Freemium)

Advisor

Miro

Supported the Growth at Miro through the stages of a startup to hyper-growth, and business at scale: 50→1800+ employees, 1→50 mln users, 1→11 hubs globally, 3→55 designers, 5→170+ people in the Growth stream. Now Miro is a high-performing B2B SaaS with a $17.5B valuation (January 2022), 99% of the Fortune 100 trust Miro.

📌 Key results:

[1] Co-led and strategized the initiatives in the Growth stream, covering Acquisition, Activation, Retention, Monetisation, and Community Platforms that led to sustainable business and ARR growth. Supported the scale of the Growth stream at Miro from 1 team to a business unit of 5 sub-streams (170+ individuals). 

[2] Scaled the team from 1 to 11 diverse Product and Content designers in the Growth stream.

[3] Led and strategized design efforts for “0 to 1” strategic initiatives, such as Miroverse, Self-serve Monetisation, and Onboarding experience. 

[4] Redesigned the Business model to launch Freemium as a foundation for sustainable PLG (Product-led Growth). 

[5] Established the design processes for effective collaboration: Experiments reflections, Growth Design Jams, Growth Design Sprint, UXR, and Design discovery.  

[6] Co-led the launch of the Localisation program to help Miro become global. 

[7] Established Career development frameworks and improved the calibration process for the 55+ designer org.

Head of Growth Product Design

After combining design leadership with the IC role for a while, I took the responsibility of building the Growth Design Team at Miro from scratch.

📌 Key results:

[1] Scaled and up-skilled the design team from 1 to 7 Product designers (Middle and Senior ICs) for the Growth stream: Acquisition, Retention, Monetisation, Community Platforms, and Professional Services. 

[2] Led the designers across 5 sub-streams to deliver solutions for Product Acquisition, Sharing Experience, Activation, Onboarding experience, Visual Learning Center, Templates experience, Monetisation CR triggers, etc.

[3] Co-led and established the Hiring Framework for the entire Design organisation. 

[4] Co-created with Growth Product Leaders new strategies: Pre-products, Community-led Growth, Viral loops, and Templates. 

[5] Led Miro.design project as a reflection of Miro design team and culture.

Product Design Manager, Growth

📌 Key results: 

[1] Led design efforts for Product Acquisition, Sharing Experience, Activation, Onboarding experience, Visual Learning Center, Templates experience, Monetisation, etc.

[2] Introduced User Research process at Miro to discover and validate experiences for Mind Map, Visual Notes, Smart search, and Notifications. 

[3] Designed end-to-end and launched the first version of Miroverse that became a standalone platform for Community-led Growth.

[4] Designed 100+ experiments with end-to-end experience in Acquisition, Activation, Engagement, Monetization, and Hand-raisers teams

[5] Redesigned the Business model to launch Freemium as a foundation for sustainable PLG (Product-led Growth).

[6] Established the Onboarding process for new designers to support the growth of the design team

Lead Product Designer (Growth and User Research) 

📌 Key results:

[1] As a founding designer in the Growth team and 3rd designer at Miro, covered the end-to-end design for 3 strategic domains: Growth, Enterprise, and Design System. 

[2] Designed end-to-end experience for Pricing & Billing to introduce the Self-serve model.

[3] Designed end-to-end experience for Advanced User Management, Integrations, and Settings panel to improve the experience for Enterprise customers.

[4] Led the design and engineering effort for the first version of the Design system at Miro.

Product Designer (Growth, Enterprise and Design System)

Maugry

Maugry is an IT consulting agency focused on creating mobile applications for new technological projects. 

I was responsible for creating an end-to-end experience for a mobile app (iOS and Android) for the Historical Regional Museum. As a result, I covered CJM, Navigation patterns, Design system, and Visual language and provided the final deliverables to the client.

User Experience Designer

Vitamin Group

Vitamin Group is a design agency focused on creating mobile and web applications for various business needs.

I was doing an internship project focused on UX audit, navigation, and IA improvements for the Business & Data Analytics platform. As a result, I uncovered multiple UI and UX improvements to level up the platform's usability to make it ready for "go-to-market".

UX Designer

Freelance

Partnered with startup founders to design the UI/UX for various mobile apps (iOS and Android).

UI/UX designer

Marketing boutique agency

As a Digital designer, I was working in a boutique marketing agency and focused on creating visual identities, branding, and marketing materials for various companies.

Digital Designer 

Kate Syuma is a Growth Advisor, ex-Miro Head of Growth Design, where she started as a founding member in a Growth Team, and passed through hypergrowth from Startup (50 people) to Series C Unicorn (≈2000 people, $17.5B valuation). 

Currently, as a Founder at Growthmates, Kate creates a platform for learning from industry leaders and an advising practice that guides companies in growing meaningful products by leveraging PLG and enhancing UX quality, together.

Learn more on growthmates.club

onboarding with tooltips is officially over. it’s no longer about UI.
in 2026, it will be about guiding users like a real human would

we often celebrate feature releases, but the real experience starts when users try it for the first time.

and here’s the truth I keep seeing in product teams: 
if we still rely on tooltips and checklists - we’re falling behind.

AI onboarding is evolving much faster than we think.
I’m not saying about hype and prompts now - but real tools that help users learn faster, activate deeper, and reach value sooner.

here are the tools I’m most excited about:

1. Obi by Cor: AI voice assistant

- guides users right when they get stuck through voice
- no searching docs. no guessing the next step
- perfect for complex SaaS where onboarding depends on user decisions
📌try it: when you work on complex B2B SaaS

(thanks Kyle Poyar for pointing me to this tool)

2. pyne: AI video assistant

- users follow a human face, not a checklist
- activation becomes more confident and more successful
- some teams already see faster time-to-value and higher trial → purchase conversion
📌try it: when you want to turn your CEO into a host of the first session

(it was a pressure to work with Roman Geugelin and the team - and this solution helped to x2 activation for TheyDo - Journey Management)

3. Navattic Copilot: AI-powered interactive demos

- a guided sandbox users can safely explore
- AI adapts its narration to what users do inside the product
- great for showcasing complex workflows early
📌try it: when you want to start activating BEFORE sign-up

… and I break down all 5 new onboarding tools like assistant-ui (YC W25) and Clueso (YC W23) 

more in my recent Growthmates newsletter (join 7k+ who already receive weekly updates from me): https://lnkd.in/ezWrENkj

—

which one of these 5 tools are you most excited about for 2026? 

#AI #growth #onboarding #startups

Growth Advisor, ex-Miro | Founder at Growthmates | Speaker · Creator | PLG · Activation · UX

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